Enjoying coffee

24 February 2017

What is your favourite smell? Is it fresh bread, the sea, new books, or fried chicken? Mine is the smell of coffee. Over the years, and especially after traveling around Italy, my coffee habit has evolved and it has now become an essential part of my morning routine. I make my espresso with a moka pot, which was a gift from an Italian friend. It makes coffee by sending boiling water through ground up coffee granules, and was the best gift ever. In the mornings, my coffee is often ready before I am, leaving the kitchen filled with a lovely aroma – apologies to my flatmate! I also bought a milk frother to make my own cappuccinos, because I was disappointed by the cappuccinos from the buttery and decided life is too short for bad coffee. Now I make better cappuccinos than the buttery does and have saved enough on coffee to pay for a May Ball ticket!

While in Cambridge coffee might be something you need to drink; in Italy it is a way of life. You can hardly find a single place that sells coffee-to-go. Rather, people go into a coffee bar in the morning and have an espresso with pastry. Some bars even serve espresso with a glass of sparkling water, intended to cleanse your palate before you sip your hot drink. I think the key is to take your time and really enjoy it, even if it is part of a routine.